Swing Kitchen (Vienna, Austria)

Real Vegan Burger…yes please !

For some people burgers are the ultimate junk food, and I have mentioned some great vegan burgers on this blog before. In Vienna I visited the Swing Kitchen, where the specialty is … vegan burgers! The couple that came up with the concept of Swing Kitchen, Irene and Charly Schillinger, used to run a successful completely vegan pub near Vienna, where they translated traditional Austrian recipes into vegan versions. After they turned their attention to Swing Kitchen, a vegan burger restaurant with several locations in Vienna and one in Graz. (Fun fact, one of these locations used to be a McDonald’s!) Swing Kitchen focuses on 100% vegan and environmentally conscious fast food.

Inside Swing Kitchen

The atmosphere of the location we were at was great. The name is derived from the fact that they play swing music! The interior itself is clean and modern. There is a long bar table along the windows, several tables and seats, and a terrace. The crowd is, as maybe expected, mostly younger people. Being a more fast-food type place, they do take-out and delivery as well. We managed to snag a table, and there was quite a crowd later so that is something to keep in mind!

Desserts on display

Swing Kitchen serves burgers and fries, but also salads like coleslaw, and wraps. You choose the food at the counter, and wait for the order to be made. At the counter the desserts are also displayed, because yes there are vegan desserts! In line with the eco-conscious mission, all straws and cutlery are bio degradable. The napkins are from recycled paper.

Recycled paper napkins, bio-degradable cutlery and straws

There is a menu-deal consisting of a burger with fries and a drink. We took two deals, one with the Vienna Burger and normal fries, and the ‘cheese’ burger with sweet potato fries. Additionally we got the onion rings and vegan nuggets to try, with a garlic dip and mayonnaise.

The burgers! Cheese burger to the left, Vienna burger to the right!

I have to say that the portions are more reasonable than at the Vegan Junkfood Bar (the gold standard of junk food at this blog) The mayonnaise is a bit thick, but it was good. I like the garlic dip too, the little pots were just a bit inconvenient for dipping the slightly larger fries in. I liked the nuggets, they were not very special though. The onion rings were a bit strange, I expected a single onion slice to be in there but it was more of a mash.

Nuggets, onion rings, two types of fries and two dips for sides!

Now the burgers, they are great ! The Vienna burger has a vegan schnitzel and garlic sauce, and the Cheese burger has a more standard patty, but with a slice of vegan cheese. The buns are big but not excessive. I liked that the patties and fillings were noticeably different, the Vienna Burger was more light and fresh, and the Cheese burger was just good old-fashioned (but cruelty-free) burger joy. The normal fries are nice and thick, but not very crunchy. The sweet potato fries have the shape of a grid, which makes dipping hard in the tiny dipping pots! Also not very crunchy, but good either way. Swing Kitchen also serves some interesting cold drinks, I had an elder flower soda. They also serve juices, ice tea and coffee.

Cherry cheese cake and the almond nougat dream ❤

Now the desserts! When we visited there was a choice of 5 and I have to say that choosing was quite hard. We tried the cheese cake and almond nougat dream. The cheese cake had a great structure, and it was fresh and not too sweet likely due to the sour cherries. The latter is an almond cake with a nougat outside and layers of chocolate mouse and sponge-y cake inside. It was not as heavy as chocolate cakes tend to be. A dream indeed!

Overall I have to say that the price was very reasonable and the food is good. It is great to see a vegan place being so popular that there are several different locations opening up!